Ringo Starr says the Beatles organization remains wary of AI, despite having harnessed the technology to deliver “the last Beatles song” in 2023.
“Now and Then” was built out of recovered elements of John Lennon’s 1977 demo, with 1995 recordings of George Harrison’s guitar added. Paul McCartney and Starr then recorded new parts to complete the song.
The AI system involved was developed by Peter Jackson for his 2021 documentary series The Beatles: Get Back – meaning the band were well aware of machine learning’s abilities.
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“We tried it in the ’90s when we got ‘Free As A Bird’ out,” Starr told Music Week in a new interview. “[B]ut we didn’t take much interest because it didn’t sound like John, and George got a bit fed up.
“He didn’t want to do a third [1995 single] and so we just put it to bed – but now they’ve got better equipment. They lifted John’s voice off a cassette, for God’s sake; off a cassette! And it was like John was suddenly in town.”
He hailed McCartney for overseeing the project. “I put the drums on and sang on the chorus… He put the strings on and the lead guitar that gave the track its emotion. It worked out really great.”
Ringo Starr: AI Can Hear Five Songs and Have My Voice
Starr then turned to the controversies surrounding AI, which includes the possibilities of computer-generated songs based on unpaid artists’ work and the replication of voices being used to sell tracks which the singer has no control over.
“We’re all a bit afraid of it, because it can steal you,” the drummer said. “Anyone who knows how to use it can steal you. If they just play any five of my songs into the computer, AI gets all of it and knows my every vocal move. They can have me sing anything and it will sound like me, because it’s taken from my personality.”
He continued: “But the good side is the way we used it on ‘Now And Then.’ God knows where it’s going to go. We’re all worrying about it; but nobody’s really stolen anything yet.”
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